This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2023)
The school first opened in 1929. The original building had two rooms,[3] and was made of adobe.[4]
Evelyn Page, who lived in the pueblo, served as principal until her death, at 55 years of age, in 1964.[5]
A gymnasium and another group of classrooms were installed in the 1970s.[4]
In 1997 there were 58 students. By 1997 the school's condition had deteriorated, and four portable buildings had the majority of school activity.[4] In 1998 there were 71 students. At that time community members asked for a new school; at that time 24 students in the area were attending standard public schools even though they could attend Zia Day School if they wanted to; according to Lawrence Wright, the principal, the poor condition of the Zia Day School buildings was the major factor.[3] After he visited the school in 1998, Bruce Babbitt, the Secretary of the Interior, stated that he would advocate for a new school.[6]
In 2001 the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) announced that circa 2002 a new school facility for Zia Day School will open. The building, with a capacity of 157, was to have 44,425 square feet (4,127.2 m2) of space and have a cost of $7,600,000. Its student capacity was to be over two times as large as that of the previous facility.[7]
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